Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems include a computer and software instructions for supporting or managing at least one business activity. For example, in the context of a manufacturing corporation, an enterprise resource planning system may integrate engineering, sales, materials management production planning and accounting functions of the manufacturing corporation.
If a business relationship exists between business entities, the business entities need to exchange information in some manner to conduct one or more transactions. Numerous technical obstacles may arise in providing electronic communications between the ERP systems of different business entities to reduce transactional costs. For instance, many ERP systems were designed only to handle the flow of data from internal data sources. Data from external sources, such as other business entities, may require translation and additional data processing to achieve interoperability between the ERP systems of different business entities. Thus, a need exists for facilitating communications between an enterprise resource planning system of a first company and an enterprise resource planning system of a second entity where the first entity and the second entity have a business relationship.
Because of the aforementioned technical obstacles in establishing a reliable communications link between the first ERP system and the second ERP system, business entities may adopt manual data entry processes as an alternative business procedure. However, exchanging information between a first ERP system and a second ERP system using manual data entry processes is often slow and error prone. For example, a manual data entry process may involve a clerical worker that reads a cathode-ray-tube monitor of a source ERP system to gather critical data for a transaction. The clerical worker may fax, e-mail, or mail the critical data to a second business entity. At the second business entity, another clerical worker may sort and sift through relevant information provided and enter the relevant information via a keyboard into the destination ERP system.
The extraction of data from the source ERP system is prone to human error and delays inherent with human workers. For example, a worker may misread a cathode-ray-tube monitor or be distracted so that inaccurate data is extracted from the source ERP system. Similarly, the extraction of erroneous data from the source ERP system may result in typographical errors if the clerical worker enters data in a word processing document, a spreadsheet or some other format in preparation for sending the critical information to the destination ERP system. The manual entry process at the destination ERP system is subject to similar miscues and errors to the entry process at the source ERP system. Moreover, delays in the entry or extraction of data at either business entity may result from inattentiveness of a worker, a worker on vacation, a worker on sick leave, or other responsibilities of a worker that conflict with the worker's duty to extract or enter the data. Accordingly, the business planning of first business entity associated with the destination ERP system will experience a delay and potential inaccuracies from human intervention. In turn, the second business entity associated with the source ERP system may be impacted because of the business relationship between the first business entity and the second business entity results in mutual problems.
The problems that arise from deficient communications are readily apparent where the first and second business entities have a customer-supplier relationship. For example, if the first business entity represents a customer that provides source data to the second business entity as a supplier, then the supplier may receive inaccurate or outdated forecasts as the source data. The inaccurate or outdated forecast may result in errors in production quantities, capital expenditures, hiring, or any other business planning aspect. Moreover, a customer may be reluctant to conduct future business with a supplier that fails to provide timely delivery of a product because of the depletion of the supplier's inventory resulting from an inaccurate or outdated forecast. Thus, a need exists to improve the timeliness and accuracy of the transfer of information from a first ERP system to a second ERP system or among analogous electronic processing systems at different business entities.